Dow and SCG recently signed a collaboration agreement to develop new complete recycling solutions to add value to plastic waste and prevent them from ending up in the environment. This agreement is an attempt to create a circular economy for plastic in Thailand.

“Our industry and society as a whole must do a better job of capturing and reusing plastic by scaling investments in collection, waste management, recycling technologies and new end-markets,” said Jim Fitterling, chief executive officer of Dow. “Dow continues to join forces with partners across the globe to more effectively reuse and recycle plastic waste. Working together with companies like SCG we can create a world where no plastic ends up in the environment.”

The agreement was based upon the shared vision to close the loop of plastics waste management for the reduction of plastic leakage to the environment.

The products anticipated from this collaboration are outputs of mechanical recycling, feedstock recycling as well as renewable feedstock, which include but are not limited to recycled resin, recycled products made from plastic waste, petrochemical feedstocks from plastic waste and renewable plastic resins.

“This collaboration not only represents our joint commitment in taking action to solve the problems through technology and making real changes but also provides us with new business opportunity, enhancing sustainability and bringing about practical solutions for recycling and upcycling of plastic waste in Thailand,” said Roongrote Rangsiyopash, president and chief executive officer of SCG.

SCG, Chemicals Business, is one of the largest integrated petrochemical companies in Thailand and a key industry leader in Asia. It offers a full range of petrochemical products ranging from upstream production of olefins to downstream production of 3 main plastics resins; polyethylene, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride.

“Circular economy is an economic opportunity as much as a solution to a pressing environmental issue,” said Jonathan Penrice, president of Dow in Asia Pacific. “We will build on Dow’s unique materials science and application knowledge and our 50-year experience in Thailand to develop solutions that maximize the value of plastics in the country.”

This collaboration is aligned with the Thai government’s ambition to drastically increase the recycling rate of plastic waste in the country by 2027. Plastic waste in the environment is considered a critical environmental issue which Dow and SCG have innovated around in the past, such as developing certain technologies to incorporate materials derived from transformed plastic waste in polymer modified asphalt roads. This solution will add value to low or no value plastic waste such as multi-layer plastic packaging and contaminated plastic waste.

Most businesses today operate a linear system, whereby natural resources are extracted, transformed into products, and eventually disposed of. A circular economy, on the other hand, is aimed to reuse, renew and recycle valuable resources, thereby reducing environmental impact.

Dow and SCG are founding members of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a not-for-profit organization, partnering with the finance community, government and civil society, including environmental and economic development NGOs to make the dream of a world without plastic waste a reality.